The Secret Of Harry Potter
by kRiSsKrOsSfOrEvEr
Summary: What if James was sent a package with a book inside? What if that book revealed something about James's family. He's instantly interested. Follow Prongs, Padfoot, Mooney and Lily as they read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
1. Finding Something Unusual

**This isn't really the kind of story I usually write, but its one of my favorite books. There aren't many of these out there and I want to try it out. If it doens't work out, then it doesn't. But I hope this gives me more attention to the little details within the book, becuase I'm going to type out the entire thing. And this is one of those storys where Prongs(James), Lily, Padfoot(Sirius), and Mooney(Remus) find the Deathly Hallows book. Please Enjoy and review.**

**Disclaimer for all chapters: J.K. ROWLING OWNS EVERY IDEA IN THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS.**

Chapter 1: Finding Something Unusual

"Hey, Prongs!" Sirius yelled through the room to where his best friend was asleep on his designated bed.

James awoke with a startled expression, obviously caused by his best mate.

"What do you want Padfoot?" James grumbled, turning over to the other side, and away from Sirius.

"Why was there a package addressed to you by an 'Unknown' sender?" Sirius asked James, walking over to where his friend was trying to go back to sleep.

"I have no idea, Sirius. Now go away." James said, grumpily, his eye lids closing again.

"Well," Sirius started, not caring if James was trying to sleep or not. "Lily opened it for you and it appears to be written about one of your relatives."

That made James sit straight up in bed.

"What?" he asked Sirius.

"I knew that would get you up, Prongs."

James ignored his best mate and took the package from Sirius.

He opened it up and took out the book.

It had a picture of a boy on the front of it and read _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_. _J.K. Rowling _was written on the bottom of the picture.

"The breathtaking Series Finale?" James read, "Mate, what is this?"

James turned the book, so that he was reading the back.

_We now present the seventh instalment and final instalment in the epic tale of Harry Potter._

_"Writing a decent sequel to a good novel is hard. . . . Writing six of them is almost unheard of. Each of the 'Harry Potters' deserves to stand on the shelf with its mates, and the last one more than fufills the promise of the first six"_

_-Malcolm Jones, _Newsweek

James read the rest of the reviews for the book.

"Malcolm Jones? And whats a _Newsweek_?" Sirius asked James.

"I don't know Padfoot, but go get Lily and Mooney. They'll need to be here." James told Sirius as he untanged his body from the blankets he was wrapped in.

"Why, Prongs?" asked Sirius.

"Because were going to read this entire book, so we can figure out who in the bloody hell Harry Potter is."

**Review? Please:)**


	2. Who Is Harry Potter?

**A/N:Here's chapter number 2. This one should be where they start to read the first chapter of the Deathly Hallows. I hope I got the family history right. And also James and Lily are dating, just thought I'd let you guys know. This authors note is short and sweet so you guys can get to the reading faster.**

**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN CHANGED A LITTLE BIT. I have read your reviews and have made all the changes you suggested. Thanks. And also this time period is during Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus's 7th year.**

Chapter 2: Who Is Harry Potter?

"So," James asked hesitantly. "Who wants to read first?"

Lily looked at James.

"I will." she said.

James passed her the book, their fingers touching gently, which made James smile on the inside, but his face remained clear on the outside.

"Okay." Lily said, turning to where the first chapter entitled, **The Dark Lord Ascending**, began. "Here it goes."

**The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow moonlit lane, For a second they stood quite still, wands directed at each others chests; then,**

"Okay," Sirius interrupted. "At least now we _know_ that it is one of James's relatives."

"Well, we don't know exactly yet, because it hasn't actually said, Padfoot." said Remus.

"We have a pretty good idea that it is, Moony!" Sirius argued.

"You don't know for sure-,"

Lily glared at them, and they silenced their fighting.

**Recognizing each other, they stowed their wands beneath their cloaks and started walking briskly in the same direction.**

**"News?" asked the taller of the two.**

Lily gasped out as she read the next line in her head.

"What, Lily?"James said, wanting to know what was wrong.

"I-its just the next line." Lily said, not wanting to read it but she did anyway.

**"The best," replied Severus Snape.**

Lily said her friends name slowly.

"Snivellus!" Sirius asked shocked, like everyone else.

"Keep reading, Lily. We need to know what time period this is in, before we jump to conclusions, maybe it's just a relative?" Remus said, knowing he probably wasn't going to be right.

Lily kept reading.

**The lane was bordered on the left by the wind, low-growing brambles, on the right by a high, neatly manicured hedge. The mens long cloaks flapped around their ankles as they marched.**

"I hope it isn't Snivellus." Sirius said. "Just an older relative."

**"I thought you might be late," said Yaxley, his blunt features sliding in and out of sight as the branches of overhanging tree's broke the moonlight. "It was a little thicker than I expected. But I hope he will be satisfied. you sound confident that your reception will be good?"**

"Have you ever heard of a Yaxley?" Lily asked them. They all shook their heads.

"No." James said.

"No." was Remus' reply.

"Not in this century." Sirius said, earning a glare from James.

"What's that supposed to mean, Padfoot. I don't think you have _been_ to another century recently." James said.

"I haven't but I thought it would lighten the mood."

**Snape nodded, but did not elaborate. They turned right, into a wide driveway that lead off the lane. The high hedge curved with them, running off into the distance beyond the pair of impressive wrought-iron gates barring the men's way. Neither of them broke step: In silence both raised their left arms in a kind of salute and passed straight through, as though the dark metal were smoke.**

"Left arm?" James asked. "Thats the dark mark arm."

Sirius looked over at his friend.

"And its not good, mate."

**The yew hedges muffled the sound of the mens footsteps. There was a rustle somewhere to their right: Yaxley drew his wand again, pointing it over his companions head, but the source of the noise proved to be nothing more than a pure-white peacock, strutting majestically along the top of the ledge.**

"A peacock? Who are these people anyway?" Sirius asked, kinda to himself.

**"He did always find himself well, Lucius. **_**Peacocks**_**. . ."**

"_Lucius Malfoy_?" Remus said. They all gasped.

"It couldn't be, Remus." Lily said, but then kept reading.

**Yaxley thrust his wand back under his cloak with a snort.**

**A handsome manor house grew out of the darkness at the end of the straight drive, lights glistening in the diamond-panned downstairs windows. Somewhere in the dark garden beyond the hedge a fountain was playing. Gravel crackled beneath their feet as Snape and Yaxley sped toward the front door,which sprung inward at their approach, though nobody had visably opened it.**

**The hallway was large, dimly lit, and sumptuously decorated, wit ha magnificent carpet covering most of the stone floor. The eyes of the pale-faced portraites on teh walls followed Snape and Yaxley as they strode past. The two men halted at a heavy wooden door leading into the next room, hesitated for the space of a heartbeat, then Snape turned the bronze handle.**

"There's too much explaining. Not enough action." Sirius grmbled as Lily read.

**The drawing room was full of silent people, sitting at a long and ornate table. The rooms usual furnature had been pushed carelessly up against the walls. Illumination came from the roaring fire beneath a handsome marble mantelpeice surmounted by a gilded mirror. Snape and Yaxley lingered for a moment on the threshold. As their eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light, they were drwn upward to the strangest feature of the scene: an apparently unconscious human figure hanging upside down over the table, revolving slowly as if suspended by an invisable rope, and reflected in the mirror and in the bare, polished surface of the table below. None of the people seated underneath this singular sight was looking at it except for a pale yound man sitting almost directly below it. He seemed unable to prevent himself from galancing upward every minute or so.**

**"Yaxley. Snape," said a high, clear voice from the head of the table. "You are very nearly late."**

"That voice doesn't sound good." James said.

"Your right, Prongs." Remus said.

**The speaker was seated directly in front of the fireplace, so that it was difficult, at first, for the new arrivals to make out more than his silhouette. As they drew nearer, however, his face shone through the loom, hairless, snakelike, with slits for nostrils and gleaming red eyes whose pupils were vertial. He was so pale that he seemed to emit a pearly glow.**

"Finally its almost over," Sirius complained. He never really liked to read books.

Lily glared at him for interupting again.

**"Severus,**

Lily shuttered at the name of her friend.

**here," said Voldemort,  
><strong>

Lily could hardly say the name and it didn't help that everyone had horrified looks on their faces.

_"Voldemort?" _Sirius spluttered out, not believing what he just heard.

"It can not be!" Remus said. "

**indicating the seat on his immediate right. "Yaxley - beside Dolohov."**

"Dolohov?" Remus asked to see if anyone knew the name.

"Thats the name of a Slytherin in our year." Lily said, then kept reading.

**The two men took their allotted places. Most of the eyes around the table followed Snape, and it was to him Voldemort spoke first.**

**"So?"**

**"My, Lord, the Order of the Phoenix intends to move Harry Potter from his current place of safety on Saturday next, at nightfall."**

**The intrest around the table shapened palpably: Some stiffened, others figeted, all gazing at Snape and Voldemort.**

**"Saturday . . . at nightfall," repeated Voldemort. His red eyes fastened upon Snapes black one's with such intensity that some of the watcher looked away, apparently fearful that they themselves would be scorched by the ferocity of the gaze. Snape, however, looked calmly back into Voldemort's face and, after a moment or two, Voldemorts lipless mouth curved into something like a smile.**

"So, wait a second." Sirius said. "So this had to be your son, if Snape's all grown up, James."

James looked at his friend.

"I never thought of it like that Padfoot. I wonder if I got married?"

"Shut up you two!" Lily said before continuing to read.

**"Good. Very good. And this information comes-"**

**"-from the source we discussed." said Snape.**

**"My Lord." **

**Yaxley leaned forward to look down the long table at Voldemort and Snape. All faces turned to him.**

**"My Lord, I have heard differently."**

**Yaxley waited, but Voldemort did not speak, so he went on. " Dawlish, the Auror, let it slip that Potter will not be moved untill the thirtieth, the night before the boy turns Seventeen."**

**Snape was smiling.**

"Well quit smiling!" Sirius told the book.

**"My source told me that there are plans to lay a false trail: this must be it. No doubt a Confundus Charm has been placed upon Dawlish. It would not be the first time; he is know to be susceptible." **

**"I assure you, my lord, Dawlish seemed quite certain," said Yaxley.**

**"If he has veen Confunded, naturally he is certain," said Snape. "I assure you, Yaxley, the Auror Office will play no further part in the protection of Harry Potter. The Order believes we have infiltrated the Ministry."**

**"The Orders got one thing right, then, eh?" said a squat man sitting a short distance from Yaxley: he gave a wheezy giggle that was here and there along the table.**

**Voldemort did not laugh. His gaze had wandered upward to the body revolving slowly overhead, and he seemed to be lost in thought.**

**"My Lord," Yaxley went on. "Dawlish believes and entire party of Aurors will be used to transfer the boy-"**

**Voldemort held up a large white handm abd Yaxley subsided at once, wathing resentfully as Voldemort turned back to Snape.**

**"Where are they going to hide the boy next?"**

**"At the home of one of the Order." said Snape. **

"Wait. If their moving him, where am I?" James asked suddenly.

"And whose he living with?" Sirius asked.

"I guess we'll find out." Lily said.

**"The place, according t othe source, has ben given every protection that the Order and Ministry together could provide. I thinkg that there is little chance of taking him once he is there, My Lord, unless, of course, the ministry has fallen before next Saturday, which might give us the opportunity to discover and undo enough of the enchantments to break through the rest."**

**"Wll, Yaxley?" Voldemort called down the table,**

Lily cringed everytime she said the dark lords name.

**the firelight glinting strangely in his red eyes. "**_**Will**_** the Ministry have fallen by next Saturday?**

**Once again, all heads turned. Yaxley squared his shoulders.**

**"My Lord, I have good news on that score. I have - with difficulty, and after great effort - succeeded inplacing an **_**Imperius Curse**_** upon Pius Thicknesse."**

"An _Imperius Curse_?" Remus looked pale, and it wasn't his time of the month.

"Whose Pius Thicknesse?" James asked.

Lily sighed and kept reading.

**Many of those sitting around Yaxkey looked impressed: his neighbor, Dolodhove, a man with a long, twisted face, clapped him on the back.**

**"It is a start," said Voldemort. "But Thicknesse is only one man. Scrimgeour must be surrounded by our people before I act. One failed attempt on the Minister's life will set me back a long way."**

**"Yes- My Lord, that is true- but you know, as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Thicknesse had regular contact with the Minister himself, but also with the Heads of all the other Ministry departments. It will, I think, be easy now that we hance such a high-ranking official under our control, to subject others, and then they can work together to bring Scrimgeour donw."**

**"As long as our friend Thicknesse is not discovered before he has converted the rest," said Voldemort, "At any rate, it remains unlikely that the Ministry will be mine before next Saturday. If we cannot touch the boy at his destination, then it must be done while he travels."**

"That is not good, Prongs, what if your relative gets captured?" Sirius regaurded.

"Lets hope it doesn't happen." James suggested.

**"We are at an advantage there, My Lord," Said Yaxley, who seemed determined to recieve some portion of approval, "We now have several people planted within the Department of Magical Trasport. If Potter Apparates or uses the Floo Network, we shall know immediatly."**

**"He will not do either," said Snape. "The order is eschewing any form of transport that is controlled or regulated by the Ministry; they mistrust everything to do with the place."**

**"All the better," said Voldemort. "He will have to move in the open. Easier to take, by far."**

"That isn't a good idea." Remus said. "A very bad idea, but probubly better than any."

**Again, Voldemort looked up at the slowly revolving body as he went on, "I shall attend to the boy in person. There have been too many mistakes where Harry Potter is concerned. Some of them have been my own. That Potter lives is due to more to my errors that to his triumphs."**

**The company around the table watched Voldemort apprehensively, each of them, by his or her expression, afraid they might be blamed for Harry Potter's continued existence. Voldemort, however, seemed to be speaking more to himself than to any of them, still adressing the unconscious body above him.**

"Why should they be afraid of being blamed, the guy just blamed himself." Sirius said.

**"I have been careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those wreckers of all but the best-laid plans. But I know better now. I understand those things I did not understand before. I must be the one to kill Harry Potter, and I shall be."**

**At these words, seemingly in response to them, a sudden wail sounded, a terrible, drawn out cry of misery and pain. Many of theose at the table looked downward, startled, for the sound had seemed to issue from below their feet.**

Lily stopped reading. She looked at the name that began the next sentance.

"No. It can't be." she whispered.

"What Lily?" James asked.

"Peter's still alive."

**"Wormtail," said Voldemort, with no change in his quiet thoughtful tone, and without removing his eyes from the revolving body above, "have I not spoken to you about keeping our prisoner quiet?"**

Everyone was shocked.

"No. Like Lily just said. It can't be _our_ Wormtail. He would never- would he?" James asked.

"Prongs, It has to be, but I couldn't imagine Peter ever betraying us. It doesn't seem possible!" Remus said, not believing the book.

"But, Moony, were his best friends. Wormtail wouldn't do that. This book must be wrong." James said, not really believing what he had just said, he was still trying to convince himself that Peter was their friend.

"I don't know. Lets read on." Lily said. Sirius was silent for once.

**"Yes, m-my Lord," gasped a small man halfway down the table, who had been sitting so low in his chair that it had appeared, at first glance to be unoccupied, now he scrambled for his seat and scurried from the room leaving nothing beind him but a curious gleam of sliver.**

"Why would you want to be that scared of your leader?" James asked. "And he went to their side?"

"He must have, something bad must have happened." Remus said.

**"As I was saying," Continued Voldemort, looking again at the faces of his followers, "I understand better now. I shall need, for instance, to borrow a wand from one of you before I go to kill Potter."**

James ended up cringing this time when his son was mentioned being killed.

**The faces around him displayed nothing but shock: he might have announced that he wanted to borrow one of their arms.**

**"No volunteers?" said Voldemort. "Lets see . . . . Lucius, I see no reason for you to have a wand anymore."**

**Lucius Malfoy looked up.**

"So it is Malfoy!" Sirius yelled, scaring James a bit. James had seemed to be lost in thought.

**His skin appeared yellowish and waxy in the firelight, and his eyes were sunken and shadowed. When he spoke his voice was hoarse.**

"Malfoy's even scared of Voldemort." James said.

**"My Lord?"**

**"Your wand, Lucius. I require your wand."**

**"I . . ."**

**Malfoy glanced sidways at his wife. She was staring straight ahead, quite as pale as he was, her long blonde hair hanging down her back, but beneath the table her slim fingers closed breifly on his wrist. At her touch, Malfoy put his hand in his robes, withdrew a wand, and passed it along to Voldemort, who held it up in the front of his red eyes, examining it closely.**

"I wonder who he married?" Remus said.

"I just hope its not Narcissa. They're going together now." Sirius said.

**"What is it?"**

**"Elm, my Lord." whispered Malfoy.**

**"And the core?"**

**"Dragon- dragon heartstring."**

**"Good." said Voldemort. He drew out his own wand and compared the lengths. **

"Why would he need Malfoy's wand if he had is own?" Sirius asked, confused.

"We don't know Padfoot. It isn't good, though." Remus said.

**Lucius Malfoy made an imvoluntary movement; for a fraction of a second, it seemed he expected to recieve Voldemorts wand in exchange for his own, the gesture was not missed my Voldemort, whose eyes widened Maliciously. **

**"Give you my wand, Lucius. **_**My**_** wand?"**

**Sone of the throng sniggered.**

**"I have given you liberty, Lucius, is that not enough for you? But I have knoticed that you and your family seem less that happy of late . . . . What was it about my presence in your home that displeases you, Lucius?"**

"I wouldn't want your butt my house." Sirius said.

"Me either. It would be very frightening to have a very powerful, dark wizard in your home." Remus replied.

"He's never going to be invited into my home." James said.

Lily nodded in agreement.

**"Nothing- nothing, my Lord!"**

**"Such **_**lies**_**, Lucius . . ."**

"I could laugh. The little prat deserves it." Sirius said.

"As much as I usually disagree with you, Padfoot. I actually agree." Remus said.

**The soft voice seemed to hiss on even after the cruel mouth had stopped moving. One or two of the wizards barely repressed as shudder as the hissing grew louder; something heavy could be heard sliding across the floor beneath the table.**

Lilys face went pale at the type of creature it was.

**The huge snake emurged to climb slowly up Voldemorts chair. It rose, seemingly endlessly, and came to a rest across Voldemorts shoulders; its neck the thickness of a mans thigh; its eyes, with their vertical slits for pupils, unblinking. Voldemort stroked the creature absently with long thin fingers, still looking at Lucius Malfoy.**

"Is it just me, or did they just say the snake looked kinda like Voldemort. Vertical slits for pupils. I think that would hurt just a bit." Sirius said.

"Unless you were born like that, Sirius." Lily said.

"True. But it's still creepy how they have the same eyes."

**"Why do the Malfoys look so unhappy with their lot? Is it my return my rise to power, not the very thing they professed to desire fo so many years?"**

**"Of course, my Lord," Said Lucius Malfoy. His hand shook as he wiped sweat from his upper lip. "We desire it- we do."**

**To Malfoys left, his wife made a odd, stiff nod, her eyes averted from Voldemort and the snake. To his right, his son, Draco, who had been gazing up at the inert body overhead, glanced quickly at Voldemort and away again, terrified to make eye contact.**

"Draco? Weird name." Sirius mocked. "It was up to Malfoy to name his son a weird name."

"What about Sirius, Padfoot? Thats totally _not_ a weird name." James commented.

Sirius glared at James.

"Maybe your son, Prongs is friends with this Draco." Sirius wondered.

"Surely not, Padfoot, my son, friends with a _Death Eater_? I couldn't imagine." James said.

Lily continued to read.

**"My Lord," said a dark woman halfway down the table, her voice constricted with emotion, "it is an honor to have you here, in our family's house. There can be no higher pleasure."**

**She sat beside her sister, as unlike her in looks, with her dark hair and heavily lidded eyes, as she was in bearing and demeanor; where Narcissa sat rigid and impassive, Bellatrix leaned toward Voldemort, for mere words could not demonstrate her longing for closeness.**

"Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Black. Your cousin's are death eaters, Padfoot." Remus said, oddly. "And appearently Narcissa _is_ married to Malfoy."

Sirius didn't want to think about that. And they had a son named Draco.

"They haven't changed much, then." Sirius said.

"No. Sounds like they haven't. Same hair, looks, and poses. Narcissa always sat very still, while Bellatrix was always the outgoing one." Remus said.

"Out going is a bit of an understatement, Moony." James said.

**"No higher pleasure," repeated Voldemort, his head tilted a little to one side as he considered Bellatrix. "That means a great deal, Bellatrix, from you."**

**Her face flooded with colour; her eyes welled with tears of delight.**

"Oh, jeeze. Thats just gross to know." Sirius said.

"What now, Padfoot?" Lily asked him.

"She's in love with him. How could she love him?"

"She loves the power, Padfoot. Not the guy." Lily told him.

"Well, that would explain it." Sirius said. "Its still gross how she fauns over him like that."

**"My Lord knows I speak nothing but the truth!"**

**"No higher pleasure . . . even compared with the happy event that, I hear, has taken place within your family this week?"**

"Happy event? Nothing _happy_ ever happens in that family." Sirius mumbled mostly to himself.

"Well, every once in a while something _happy_ happens." James said.

"Like what, Prongs."

James thought for a second.

"You were born."

"That was not a happy occasion. It was awful being born into a family of _Death Eaters_." Sirius said. "They may have been happy, but I wasn't."

**She stared at him, her lips parted, evidently confused.**

**"I don't know what you mean, my Lord."**

**"I'm talking about your neice, Bellatrix.**

"Tonks?" Sirius asked, using the nickname the kid always used because she hated her real name.

She was Sirius's cousin, too.

"Does she have any other neices, Padfoot?" James asked his friend.

"I have no idea."

**"And yours, Lucius and Narcissa. She just got married to the werewolf, Remus Lupin. You must be so proud."**

"Bloody hell, Moony!" James yelled out.

Lily laughed as she read it.

"Way to go Moony! Getting married to someone way younger than yourself! I guess that makes us family!" Sirius said, giving Remus a man hug.

"I guess so. At least I know I'm alive in the future, which is good." Remus said.

"And you get married! To Sirius's cousin!"

**There was an eruption of jeering laughter from around the table. Many leaned forward to exchange gleeful looks; a few thumped the table with their fists. The great snake, dislikng the disturbance, opened its mouth wide and hissed angrily, but the Death Eaters did not hear it, so jubilant were they at Bellatrix and the Malfoys humiliation. Bellatrix's face, so recently flushed with happiness, had turned an ugly, blotchie red.**

**"She is no neice of ours, My Lord," she cried over the outpouring of mirth. "WE- Narcissa and I- have never sey eyes of our sister since she married the mudblood. This bray had nothing t odo with either of us, nor the beast she marries."**

"I wouldn't say I'm a beast." Remus said sadly.

"They just don't know you Moony. If they did they'd know that." Sirius tried to make him feel better, it didn't seem to help.

"Your not a beast, Remus." Lily said. "Your just a werewolf . That doesn't qualify you as a beast."

**"What do you say, Draco?" asked Voldemort, and though his voice was quiet, it carried clearly through the catcalls and jeers. "Will you babysit the cubs?"**

Remus growled.

"Calm down, Remus. This is just a book, it may not even come true, so don't worry." Lily said, patting the guy that sat a few feet away from her on the knee.

"I hope it doesn't." James said.

"My children will not be cubs, they will be regular children, like everyone else." Remus said.

**The hilarity mounted; Draco Malfoy looked in terror at his father, who was staring down into his own lap, then caught his mothers eye. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, then resumed her own deadpan stare at the opposite wall.**

**"Enough," said Voldemort, storking the angry snake. "Enough."**

**And the laughter died at once.**

**"Many of our oldest family trees become a little diseased over time," he said as Bellatrix gazed at him, breathless and imploring. "You must prune yours, must you not, to keep it healthy? Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest."**

"What?" Remus yelled. "Me and Tonks are not diseased! We are perfectly _FINE_!"

He had stood up. Sirius also stood and got his friend to sit back down on James' bed.

"He means that when my aunt married Ted she became an outcast, like when I ran to James' house, I became cast out of the family." Sirius explained.

**"Yes, my Lord," whispered Bellatrix, and her eyes swam with tears of gratitude again. "At first chance!"**

**"You shall have it," said Voldemort. "And in your family, so in the world . . . we shall cut away the canker that infects us until only those of the true blood remain . . . ."**

**Voldemort raised Lucius Malfoy's wand, pointed it directly at the slowly revolving figure suspended over the table, and gave it a tiny flick. The figure came to life with a groan and began to struggle against the invisible bonds.**

**"Do you recognize our guest, Severus?" asked Voldemort.**

Lily winced when she said the two names so close together.

**Snape raised his eyes to the updisde-down face. All of the Death Eaters were looking up at te captive now, at though the yhad been given permission to show curiosity. As she revolved to face the firelight, the woman said in a cracked and terrified voice, "Severus! Help me!"**

Lily cut off with a jerk, knowing that her friend wouldn't help the woman if he was in the presence of that evil wizard.

"Its okay Lily, keep reading." James said, putting his hand on her back lightly.

**"Ah, yes." sadi snape as the prisoner turned slowly away again.**

**"And you, Draco?" asked Voldemort, stroking the snakes snout with his wand-free hand. Draco shook his head jerkily. Now that the woman had woken, he seemed unable to look at her.**

"The woman is very unlucky." Sirius said.

"She's going to be killed, Sirius." Lily said, predicting the future.

**"But you would not have taken her classes," said Voldemort. "For those of you who do not know, we are joined by Charity Burbage who, until recently, taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."**

"A teacher! Why would he want to kill a teacher?" Lily yelled.

**"**It must be what subject she teaches." Remus said.

**There were small noises of comprehension around the table. A broad, hunched woman with pointed teeth cackled.**

**"Yes . . . Professor Burbage taought the children of witches and wizards all about muggles . . . how they are not so different from us . . ."**

"Well they aren't!" James yelled at the book.

"We now know why they are going to kill her." Remus said.

**One of the Death Eaters spat on the floor. Charity Burbage revolved to face Snape again.**

**"Severus . . . please . . . please . . ."**

"SEVERUS! HELP HER!" Lily yelled, scaring a boy whom just walked into the dorm room to get his quil from his trunk.

**"Silence," said Voldemort, with another twitch of Malfory's wand, and Charity fell silent as if gagged. "Not content with corrupting and polluting the minds of Wizarding childern, last week Professor Burbage wrote an impassioned defense of Mudbloods in the **_**Daily Prophet**_**. Wizards, she says, must accept these thieves of their knowledge and magic. The dwindling of the purebloods is, says Professor Burbage, a most desirable circumstance. . . . She would have us all mate with muggles . . . or, no doubt, werewolves . . . ."**

"And theres nothing wrong with mating with a werewolf!" Remus said.

**Nobody laughed this time: There was not mistaking the anger and contempt in Voldemort's voice. For the third time, Charity Burbage revolved to face Snape. Tears were pouring from her eyes and into her hair. Snape looked back at her, quite impassive, as she turned slowly away from him again.**

_**"Avada Kedavra"**_

They all looked up at each other.

"He must have not wanted kids to learn about muggles." Sirius said.

"No. He only wants to have Purebloods in the world, Padfoot. He hates muggles." James said.

"I know that, Prongs, I just don't see whats wrong with teaching it. What if people want to learn of Muggles? Why can't they?" Sirius responded.

Lily was silent for a second, then continued to read to the bottom of the page.

**The flash of green light illuminated every corner of the room. Charity fell, with a resounding crash, onto the table below, which trembled and creaked. Several of the Death Eaters lept back in their chairs. Draco fell out of his onto the floor.**

**"Dinner Nagini," said Voldemort softly and the great snake swayed and slithered from his shoulders and onto the polished wood.**

Lily shut the book after she marked the page by folding down the corner.

"That's the first chapter, who wants to read now?" she asked around.

Remus took the book from Lily.

"But what did we find out?" James asked. "Lets go over what we've learned."

"Well, first off, you have a son named Harry." Sirius said.

"Second, Remus has gotten married." Lily said, smiling over to Remus.

"Third, Severus killed a woman." Remus said.

"And Voldemort is still alive in our future." James added, pulling out a quil and a peice of parchment. He wrote down what they had learned and needed to remember.

"Okay. Moony." Sirius said, taking a deep breath. "Read on."

**A/N: Please review? They make me happy. And chapters may be late because school startes really soon, but I will try to update within two weeks.**


	3. Finally, It's Harry Time

**A/N: Hi, people of fanfiction whom are reading this! I thank you all for reading this. I don't have much to say so heres the next installment of The Secret Of Harry Potter:). I didn't include the article or the add about Rita Skeeter. And Sirius is acting really dumb in this chapter. Sorry about that. This next part of my A/N is for everyone whom reviewed. **

**thebiggestpotterfreak: **_**thank you for being the first person to review and telling me that my characters don't react much. I went back to the last chapter and wrote more for them 'reacting' and I updated the new copy of Chapter 2. It came up to about a 1,000 more words. Please go back and review.**_

**VampHime: **_**thanks for being interested in my story. Here's the next chapter:). **_

**newtxox: **_**thanks for calling my story good and reviewing. I went back and changed the second chapter so that they did react to Wormtail, so you should go back a reread it. I had planned on making them react at the time I wrote it but I forgot to put it in. Silly me:(, but its fixed now. Also there is more to the chapter as their reactions to other things. **_

**Cwam: **_**thanks for reviewing and adding it to your C2 community story archive. The characters now comment when Wormtail is mentioned, as well as in other places. I went back and reread over the chapter and fixed my little mistakes. And about Remus' nickname, I didn't know that it was spelled differently, thanks for telling me, I went back and changed it. I do like the constructive critism because I'm only 14 and I'm not very experienced in writing. It helps alot.**_

**Point Given: **_**thanks for adding the story to your favorites. I'm pretty sure I'm only going to keep Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus reading it. Maybe bring in Peter in later, but maybe not. I'm not quite sure just yet. It was just one of the many idea's floating around in my head.**_

**CatchingCraziness: **_**I love your name! CatchingCraziness is a unique one. And thank your for reviewing. I know Sirius was a bit annoying, but he's just confused, it may not be annoying anymore because I went back and added some more comments from the characters. And here's your update.**_

**FLHPfan: **_**thanks for reviewing. The time period is now told it the 2nd chapter. I think I put it in the A/N so people will know its their 7th is now the same age as them.**_

**Now time for the chapter!**

Chapter 2: Finally, Its Harry Time!

"This chapters called **In Memoriam**." Remus said.

**Harry was bleeding.**

"Oh, thats not a good way to start a chapter, Moony!" Sirius told him.

"Well thats what it says, Padfoot!" Remus said.

"So its not a good way to start a chapter! You might give people the wrong idea!"

"Well, I most certainly, can not change it. I am not the writer."

"Just keep reading!" James yelled. "I want to know if my son dies!"

**Clutching his right hand in his left and swearing under his breath, he shouldered open his bedroom door. There was a crunch of breaking china: He had trodded on a cup of cold tea that had been sitting on the floor ourside his bedroom door.**

"Why would someone intentionally put a cup of tea outside someone else's door?" Lily asked.

"A Prank?" James inquired lightly.

"But still, who in our house would do that?" Lily asked.

**"What the-?"**

**He looked around; the landing of number four, Privet Drive, was deserted. Possibly the cup of tea was Dudley's idea of a clever booby trap.**

"Haha, _booby_ trap." Sirius said.

"Shut up, Padfoot!" James hissed. "So I was right. A prank, by some guy named Dudley. Uh. Who's Dudley. We would never have another kid and name it 'Dudley', I'm sorry, but I won't allow it."

**Keeping his bleeding hand elevated, Harry scraped the fragments of cup together with the other hand and threw them into the already crammed bin just inside his bedroom door. Then he tramped across to the bathroom to run his finger under the tap.**

**It was stupid, pointless, irritating beyond belief that he still had four days left of being unable to preform magic . . . but he had to admit to himself that this jagged cut in his finger would have defeated him. He had never learned how to repair wounds, and now he came to think of it - particularly in the light of his immediate plans - this seemed a serious flaw in his magical education.**

"Why wouldn't he have learned how to fix injurys at Hogwarts? It could be needed in his case." Lily said, her motherly instincts kicking in for some reason.

"I don't know how to fix wounds, Lil's and I'm just fine." Sirius said, lounging up against the bed frame.

"And that mite be your fatal flaw, Sirius! What if you ever needed it-,"

"Well, that's what your for, Lily. You surely know the spell. If I stick around you and James, I'll be fine!" Sirius argued.

**Making a mental note to ask Hermione how it was done, he used a large wad of toilet paper to mop up as much of the tea as he could, before returning to his bedroom and slamming the door behind him.**

"Hermione? Isn't that a girls name?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, Sirius, it is. Which means he probubly had a girlfriend."

"I hope not. He's too young." James said.

"The spine of the book says its his seventh year, James, as well it's said that he's turning 17 in four days, almost as old as you." Remus reminded him.

"I don't want to know if my sons's having sex, yet, Moony." James ran a hand through his hair.

They dropped the conversation.

**Harry had spent the morning completely emptying his school trunk for the first time since he had packed it six years ago. At the start of the intervening school years, he had merely skimmed off the topmost three quarters of the contents and replaced or updated them, leaving a layer of general debris at the bottom - old quills, desiccated beetle eyes, single socks that no longer fit. Minutes previously, Harry had plunged his hand into this mulch, experienced a stabbing pain in the fourth finger of his right hand, withdrawn it to see a lot of blood.**

"I wonder what cut him?" James said.

Sirius ignored James.

"Its sounds like James' trunk all over again." Sirius said. "What do you have in yours, Prongs?"

"My clothes, and a bunch of unknown crap at the bottom." was James' reply.

**He now proceeded a little more cautiously. Kneeling down beside the trunk again, he groped around in the bottom and, after retrieving an old badge that flickered feebly between **_**Support**__**CEDRIC DIGGORY**_** and **_**POTTER STINKS,**_

"Potters don't stink!" James said.

"Unless they don't take showers for 4 days straight." Sirius said, trying to be funny.

**a cracked and worn-out Sneakoscope, and a gold locker inside with a note signed by R.A.B. had been hidden, he finally discovered the sharp edge that had done the damage.**

"R.A.B?" James asked. "Aren't Regulus's initials R.A.B?"

"Yes." Sirius said after a moment of thinking about it. "That can't be good."

**He recognized it at once. It was a two-inch-long fragment of the enchanted mirror that his**

Remus stopped reading, looking instantly at Sirius.

"Why'd you stop, mate?" James asked.

"I cannot continue. The next part is much too hard for Padfoot to comprehend." Remus replied.

"I'll _comprehend_ it just find, Mooney." Sirius said jokingly. "Continue."

**dead godfather, Sirius, had given him.**

Everyone was quiet.

"I die?" Sirius asked out.

"We don't know why Sirius. Maybe it's another Sirius?" Lily tried, but Sirius still looked sad, who wouldn't be, learning that they died in the future.

"No, James would only pick me as his son's godfather!" Sirius said.

"He's right Lily." James added.

"Well, maybe you come back?" she tried. Sirius shook his head and Remus continued to read.

**Harry laid it aside and felt cautiously around the trunk for the rest, but nothing more remained of his godfather's last gift except powdered glass, which clung to the deepest layer of debris like glittering grit.**

"So, the books saying my last gift to your son, Prongs, is now dead, like myself?" said Sirius.

"Appearently, Padfoot, it says only a peice of the mirrors left." Prongs said. "So it isn't completely dead."

"Maybe your right, but it could have severly cut him. I feel bad." Sirius admitted.

"Did you get that on camera, James? He actually admited he felt 'bad'." Lily said.

"It's a once in a lifetime thing, Lily. It will never happen again." Sirius said. "And I'm feeling out of character because I am a godfather to James' kid and I'm dead in the future."

"That would make you psycho, Padfoot." James said.

**Harry sat up and examined the jagged peice on which he had cut himself, seeing nothing but his own bright green eye reflected back at him.**

"Bright green?" James wondered, looking at Lily.

"I have bright green eyes!" Lily said, shocked.

"So that must mean the two lovebirds-," Sirius was cut off.

"DO NOT FINISH THAT SENTANCE!" Lily yelled.

"It has to be you, Lil's. Face it, you marry James Potter!" Sirius sang.

**Then he placed the fragment on top of that mornings **_**Daily Prophet**_**, which lay unread on the bed, and attempted t ostem the sudden spurge of bitter memories, the stabs of regret and of longing the discovery of the broken mirror had occasioned, by attacking the rest of the rubbish in the trunk.**

"Have you even cleaned your truck yet, Prongs?" Sirius asked his friend.

James looked down.

"Uh, not yet. Why?"

"Because this kid sounds so much like you it hurts!"

**It took another hour to empty it completely, throw away the useless items, and sort the remainder in piles according to whether or not he would need them from now on.**

"Oh, bloody hell!" Sirius said. "Now he sounds like Lily!"

"It does sound a bit like her. Stacking stuff into piles." James said.

"HEY!" Lily said, defending herself. "There's nothing wrong with sorting stuff into piles!"

"If you say so." Sirius mumbled with a laugh.

"Wait. He just implyed he was leaving. And isn't this his Seventh year, accourding to the book?"

"I don't know." was the reply from James.

**His school and Quidditch robes,**

"He plays Quidditch! I wonder what postition?" James yelled out, excited.

"Seeker, no doubt." Sirius said, like his dear old dad.

**cauldron, parchment, quills, and most of his text books were piled in a corner, to be left behind.**

"He's being moved! Thats who Voldemort was talking about last chapter!" Lily said, happy she figured it out, but missed a huge point.

"Uh, Lily, you missed the big idea." Remus said, correcting his friend.

"And what would that be?"

"Voldemort is after _your_ son. And plans to kill him, and soon."

Lily just gasped and Remus went back to reading.

**He wondered what his aunt and uncle would do with them; burn them in the dead of night, probably, as if they were the evidence of some dreadful crime.**

"He has to mean Petunia and Vernon." Lily said, looking at James. "Because you don't have any siblings," she looked at Remus. "And you wouldn't destroy those kinds of things."

They nodded in agreement.

**His muggle clothing, invisability cloak,**

"He's got my cloak!" James yelled out.

"Like father, like son." Lily muttered.

**potion making kit, certain books, the photograph album Hagrid had once given him,**

"Hagrid? The groundskeeper, Hagrid?" Sirius asked to no one perticular.

"Must be."

**a stack of letters, and his wand had been repacked into an old rucksack.**

"I wonder what wand chose him?" Lily asked out.

**In the front pocket were t he Marauder's Map and the locket with the not signed R.A.B. inside it.**

"THE MAP!" James and Sirius yelled out together.

"We know that your son got our map! Its in good hands in the future." Sirius said.

"That is a good thing to know. I wonder who gave it to him?" James wondered.

"Probably me, or Moony, or you guys, where ever you are, because obviously if he's living with his aunt, you guys arent there." Sirius said.

"I wonder where we are, then, Padfoot. Maybe it will say."

**The locket was accourded to his place of honour not because it was valuable - in all usual senses it was worthless - but what it had cost to obtain it.**

"Wonder what it had cost?" Lily said.

"I hope it says." one of the guys said.

**This left a sizable stack of newspapers sitting on his desk beside his snowy owl, Hedwig: on for each of the days Harry had spent at Privet Drive this summer.**

"So we got him an owl?" Lily said. "It sounds cute. And it seems he's really attached to it!"

"But _Hedwig_? Why did we let him name it that?" James said, shaking his head.

"He can name it whatever he wants. Its his owl."

"But its a weird name, Lily!"

"So, James! Its his owl!"

James just gave up, letting Lily win.

**He got up off the floor, streched, and moved across to his desk. Hedwig made no movement as he began to flick through the newspapers, throwing them into the rubbish pile, one by one. The was asleep, or else faking; she was angry at Harry about the limited amout of time she was allowed our of her cage at the moment.**

"Have you ever heard of a _girl_ owl named _Hedwig_?" James asked Sirius.

"No, but it seems mad at him at the moment."

**As he neared the bottom of the pile of newspapers, Harry slowed down, wearching for one particular issue he knew had arrived shortly after he had returned to Privet Drive for the summer; he remembered there had been a small mention on the front about the resignation of Charity burbage, the Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts.**

"There's that poor woman, whom the Death Eaters killed in the begining!" Lily said.

"Charity Burbage," James quoted.

**At last he found it. Turning to page 10, he sank into his desk chair and reread the article he had been looking for.**

**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE REMEMBERED**

**by Elphias Doge**

"Dumbledore's still around?" Sirius said.

"Appearently. Harry must have been attached to him in a way." Lily replied.

"Or else he wouldn't be reading the article." James stated.

REmus read the enitre artical with many interruptions.

**Harry finished reading but continued to gaze at the picture accompying the obituary. Dumbledore was wearing his firmiliar, kindly smile, but as he peered over the top of his halr-moon spectacles, he gave the impression, even in newprink, of X-raying Harry, whose sadness mingled wiht a sense of humiliation.**

"To have the impression of your headmaster X-raying you would be a horrible feeling." Sirius said.

"Well, you should know, Dumbledore's looked at you like that probably all the millions of times you've been to his office in the last year, Padfoot." James said.

"No not really. He was always studying a book or writing on a peice of parchment. Never actually looked at me clearly." Sirius admitted.

"That's good, I guess, then Padfoot."

**He had thought he knew Dumbledore quite well, but ever since reading the obituary he had been forced to recognized that he had barely known him at all.**

"That's saddening." Lily said.

"Yeah. Thinking you know your headmaster when you really didn't!" Sirius said, with a laugh.

Lily slapped him across the face.

"He obviously was very close to his headmaster! Your a prick, Sirius, not to realize that! Now quit making fun of my son!" She yelled at him.

**Never once had he imagined Dumbledore's childhood or youth; it was as though he had sprung into being as Harry had known him, venerable and silver-haired and old. The idea of teenage Dumbledore was simply odd, like trying to imagince a stupid Hermione or a friendly Blast-Ended Skrewt.**

"There's his girlfriends name again! I wonder if she's pretty?" Lily thought.

"Ugh." James said,looking down as Remus kept reading.

**He had never thought to ask Dumbledore about his past. No doubt it would have felt strange, impertinent even, but after all, it had been common knowledge that Dumbledore had taken part in that legendary duel with Grindelwald, and Harry had not thought to ask Dumbledore what that had been like, nor about any of his other famous achievements.**

"Aww. Thats sad!" Lily said, feeling bad for her son.

"Very. Even though Dumbledores dead in our son's future, it makes me want to send him something." James said.

"Wait! Dumbledores dead in the future?" Sirius asked. He wasn't the smartest apple on the tree.

"Yes, Padfoot. Haven't you been listening to Harry talk?" James asked Sirius.

"Not really. I'm thinking about if I have hair in the future." Sirius replied.

"He's a lost cause, James. Go on, Remus." Lily said.

**No, they had always discussed Harry, Harry's past, Harry's future, Harry's plans . . . and it seemed to Harry now, despite the fact that his future was so dangerous and so uncertain, that he had missed irreplaceable opportunities when he had failed to ask Dumbledore more about himself, even though the only personal question he ever asked his headmaster was also the one he had suspected that Dumbledore had not answered honestly:**

_**"What do you see when you look into the mirror?"**_

_**"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."**_

"Ummm. Why socks?" Sirius asked.

"Appearently he has cold feet? I don't know Padfoot, Harry just said that he felt Dumbledore wasnt completely honest with him about that." James said.

"But still? Socks?"

**After several minutes' thought, Harry tore the obituary out of the **_**Prophet**_**, folded it carefully, and tucked it inside the first volume of **_**Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts**_**. Then he threw the rest of the newspaper onto the rubbish pile and turned to face the room.**

"Okay? We had that same book last year." Sirius said.

"Yes. It's in my trunk right now, Padfoot, waiting for sunlight." James said sarcastically.

"Which means you havent unpacked your trunk, yet."

"Have we not already went over that?"

**It was much tidier. The only things left out of place were todays **_**Daily Prophet**_**, still lying on the bed, and on top of it, the broken peice of mirror.**

"Or, in other words, what's left of my last gift!" Sirius said.

**Harry moved across the room, slid the mirror fragment of todays **_**Prophet**_**, and unfolded the newspaper. He had merely glanced at the headline when he had taken the rolled-up paper from the delivery owl early that morning and thrown it aside, after noting that it said nothing about Voldemort. Harry was sure that the Ministry was leaning on the **_**Prophet **_**to surpress news about Voldemort.**

"He wouldn't have any other way of knowing what old Voldy was up to otherwise if he didn't have a newspaper!" Sirius said.

"Which is a good thing he gets the _Prophet_ delivered by owl." Lily said.

"Any extremely good thing." James added.

**It was only now, therefore, that he saw what he had missed.**

**Across the bottom half of the front page a smaller headline was set over a picture of Dumbledore striding along looking harried:**

**DUMBLEDORE - THE TRUTH AT LAST?**

"That headline doesn't sound very good." James commented.

"What headline in the _Prophet_ does anymore, Prongs? Its all about the war these days."Sirius replied.

"Your right, but why would Dumbledore keep a secret, Padfoot?"

"Because he doesn't want anyone to know about something big." Sirius said.

Remus read the entire article, and like last time, he was interrupted several times.

**Harry reached the bottom of the article, but continued to stare blankly at the page. Revulsion and fury rose in him like vomit; he balled up the newspaper and threw it, with all his force, at the wall, when it joined the rest of the rubbish heaped around the overflowing bin.**

"He really need to take out the trash in his room." James said.

Lily scoffed.

"Like you do? Your room has junk everywhere, James, so don't tell Harry to clean his room unless you clean yours."

"Point true, Prongs. Your rooms awful, there's a layer of trash between the floor and your ceiling." Sirius said.

"Okay! Quit bagging on my room." James said.

**He began to stride blindly around the room, opening empty drawers and picking up books only to replace them on the same piles, barely conscious of what he was doing, as randowm phrases from Rita's article echoed in his head: **_**And entire chapter to the whole Potter - Dumbledore relationship . . . It's been called unhealthy, even sinister. . . . He dabbled in the Dark Arts himself in his youth . . . I've had access to a source most journalists would snap their wants for . . .**_

"The article is lying!" James said. "Dumbledore would know better than to 'dabble' in the Dark Arts."

**"Lies!" Harry bellowed, and through the window he saw the next-door neighbor, who had paused to restart his lawn mower, look up nervously.**

"Like father, like son. Always thinking the same thing!" Sirius said.

"Shut up, Sirius. Your giving me a serious headache."

"A Sirius headache, Lily?" he said, joking at the two words, which both happened to be his name, one was just spelled differently.

"Not funny." she replied.

**Harry sat down hard on the bed. The broken bit of mirror danced away from him; he picked it up and turned it over in his fingers thinking, thinking of Dumbledore and the lies with which Rita Skeeter was defaming him. . . .**

**A flash of brightest blue. Harry froze his cut finger slipping on the jagged edge of the mirror again. **

"Blue?" James asked.

"He has green eyes, James." Lily said, worried.

**He had imagined it, he must have done. He glanced over his shoulder, but the wall was a sickly peach colour of Aunt Petunia's choosing: There was nothing blue there for the mirror to reflect. He peered into the mirror fragment again, but saw nothing but his own bright green eye looking back at him. **

"He had to have imagined it." Lily said, she wouldn't admit it but she felt weird.

"Yes. Had to." James said, shakily.

"Petunia never had good taste's." Lily said, trying to change the subject.

**He had imagined it, there was no other explanation; imagining it, because he had been thinking of his dead headmaster. If anything was certain, it was the bright blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore would never peirce him again.**

"Thats it for Chapter 2." Remus said.

"Okay. My turn to read!" Sirius said, actually excited to read for once in his life.

"Really? _You_ want to read?" Lily asked.

"This is a _good_ book, Lil's." was his reply.

James took out the quill and parchment again.

"We've learned that Albus Dumbledore is dead." James said, writing it down.

"And me!" Sirius said. "And I'm his godfather!" James wrote that down.

"He's got a peice of Sirius's mirror." Remus said.

"Were his parents." Lily added.

"Dumbledore had a squib for a sister!" Sirius said.

"He's being moved to a safe house." Remus said.

"And Hermione! Put down she's a friend, James!" Lily said, excited.

"The flash of blue." Remus added.

"And the _Prophet_ is going to be used to give news of Voldemort." Sirius said.

James wrote it all down.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"All that we can think of right now, Prongs!" Sirius said, opening the book.

**A/N: Please review. Thank you all for reading, and I hope this chapter is better than the other one, I think I added alot more comments from James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus. Tell me if I need to change or add anything. If you guys want to know a random fact about this chapter, its over 4,000 words:) which is a pretty long chapter.**


	4. Goodbye Dursleys

**A/N: This is the fourth chapter and it is exactly 12 pages long, so it should be easier to write. This is where the Dursley's leave, and Lily may get a bit mad in this chaper, just to fore warn you. Also Lily and James talk alot in this chapter.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed!**

**thebiggestpotterfreak: **_**thanks for reviewing again:). I didn't know James was a chaser. But thanks for telling me.**_

**NoodleFromGorillaz: **_**thanks for reviewing:P It is kinda mindblowing. I just love Remus/Tonks. I had totally forgotten her real name when I was first writing it so I just put Tonks. I really don't want them to die in the end and it will be really hard to write.**_

**purple is my color: **_**thanks for reviewing:D. I can't wait to see what my brain comes up with either! And those articles were boring as heck to me when I read the book:[, they are long and verrrrrry boring. I was going to write them because I didn't want people to miss out on them, but decieded against it.**_

**CatchingCraziness: **_**thanks for reviewing:V. I'm going to make him less slow, even though in this chapter he is kinda slow. I hope I updated soon!**_

**Maddie Beth: **_**thanks for reviewing:^). I will try to update soooon so you wont have to wait for more that long. Nobody has ever called one of my fic's 'one of the better fics on here' before. Thanks for being the first.**_

**LittleMissMoonbeam: **_**thanks for reviewing :) that's what I thought. I'm actually learning alot by writing the entire book out.**_

**tez-chan: **_**No, thank you for reviewing:)**_

**Lily1992: **_**thanks for reviewing. Here's the next chapter you wanted:)**_

**ana-12: **_**Thanks for reviewing and loving my story.**_

**Laurenmk18: **_**Thanks for reviewing. I know Peter's alive, he just isn't in the group that reads the story. And thanks for telling me that Andromenda is Sirius's cousin. I'll make further note of that. I just wasn't sure how they were related.**_

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 4: Goodbye Dursleys.

"This chapters called, **The Dursleys Departing**." Sirius said.

"I still can't she married that idiot and had a kid named Dudley." lily said.

**The sound of the front door slamming echoed up the stairs and a voice yelled, "Oi! You!" **

"That has to be that stupid fat pig, Vernon." Lily said.

"So you don't like him?" Sirius asked her.

"No, what makes you think that, Sirius?" She replied, sarcastically.

"You speak of him fondly." Sirius said.

"You mean I speak of that dumb dumb head fondly?"

"Dumb dumb head? Never heard that one before."

"Its a muggle saying that is nicer than saying asshole." Lily said.

**Sixteen years of being adressed thus left Harry in no doubt whom his uncle was calling; nevertheless, he did not immediatly respond.**

"Sixteen years? Where were we all these years? He's been living with them since he was around a year old?" James said, grimly. "Where in the bloody hell are we Lily?"

"I have no idea James. Why would we leave our son with them anyway. Why not Remus, or even Sirius?" Lily asked.

**He was still gazing at the mirror fragment in which, for a split second, he had thought he saw Dumbledore's eye. It was not until his uncle bellowed, "BOY!" that Harry got slowly to his feet and headed for the bedroom door, pausing to add the piece of broken mirror to the rucksack filled with things he would be taking with him.**

"I loathe that man!" Lily yelled out. "Why did she _have_ to marry him?"

"A better question would be that why is _our_ son with them?" James said.

**"You took your time!" roared Vernon Dursley when Harry apeared at the top of the stairs. "Get doen here, I want a word."**

"I wish he would be nicer to Harry, if he was here right now I would curse him into the next century." Lily said.

"Calm, Lily. Be calm." Sirius urged.

"He's right, Lily. It's not a good idea to be angry at him now, save that for later." James said.

**Harry strolled downstairs, his hands deep in his jeans pockets. When he reached the living room he found all three Dursleys. They were dressed for traveling: Uncle Vernon in a fawn zip-up jacket, Aunt Petunia in a neat salmon-coloured coat, and Dudley, Harry's large, blonde, muscular cousin, in his leather jacket.**

"Ugh. Vernon dressed in a jacket is not a good sight to be imagining." Sirius said.

"I know exactly which coat he's talking about Petunia wearing. She's had it forever." Lily added.

"Dudley doesn't sound so bad after all." Remus told them.

**"Yes?" asked Harry.**

"My baby boys polite!" Lily gasped out.

"Unlike his father. He must have gotten it from you Lily." Remus said.

"Hey!" James objected. "I can be polite!"

"No you can't." Sirius said. "You don't have a polite bone in your body mate."

"Shut up, Sirius." was James' reply.

**"Sit down!" said Uncle Vernon. Harry raised his eyebrows. "Please!" added Uncle Vernon, wincing slightly as though the word was sharp in his throat.**

"A wise decision." Remus said.

"He must know Harry's a wizard." James said.

"Obviously." Lily added. "I still hate him."

"We know that Lil's." Sirius said.

**Harry sat. He thought he knew waht was coming. His uncle began to pace up and down, Aunt Petunia and Dudley following his movements with anxious expressions. Finally, his large purple face crumpled with concentration, Uncle Vernon stopped in front of Harry and spoke.**

**"I've changed my mind." he said.**

"That isn't surprising." Lily said.

"No, it isn't." James said.

**"What a surprise." said Harry.**

**"Don't you take that tone-," began Aunt Petunia in a shrill voice, but Vernon Dursley waved her down.**

"What an evil BITCH!" Lily said.

"No kidding." Sirius said.

"If I see her soon-," James started to threaten, but stopped himself.

**"It's all a lot of claptrap," said Uncle Vernon, glaring at Harry with piggy little eyes. "I've decieded I don't believe a word of it. We're staying put, we're not going anywhere."**

"He's just stupid. Stupid little pig!"

"Lily! Clam."James said for the millionth time.

"Sorry!" she apologized.

**Harry looked up at his uncle and felt a mixture of experation and amusement, Vernon Dursley had been changing his mind for the past four weeks, packing and unpacking with every change of heart. Harry's favorite moment had been the one when Uncle Vernon, unawear that Dudley had added his dumbbells to his case since the last time it had been unpacked, had attempted to hoist it back into the boot and collapsed with roars of pain and much swearing.**

Lily burst out laughing.

"It serves him right!"

"It surely does." Remus said, about half laughing himself.

**"According to you," Vernon Dursley said now, resuming his pacing up and down the living room. "we - Petunia, Dudley, and I - are in danger. From- from-,"**

**"Some of 'my lot,' right?" said Harry.**

"Oh, he's going to get his butt kicked when I see him next." Lily promised.

"Let's not go that far, Lily." James warned.

"And why not?"

"Because it isn't wise." Remus said for James.

"Whatever." Lily said.

**"Well, I don't believe it," repeated Uncle Vernon, coming to a halt in front of Harry again. "I was awake half the night last night thinking it all over, and I believe it's a plot to get the house."**

"He's _so_ full of himself!" James said, this time he was getting mad instead of Lily.

"I know! Haven't I been saying that the last half of this chapter?" Lily replied.

**"The house?" repeated Harry. "What house?"**

**"This house!" shreiked Uncle Vernon, the vein in his forehead started to pulse. "Our house! House prices are skyrocketing around here! You want us out of the way and then you're going to do a bit of hocus-pocus and before we know it the deeds will be in your name and-,"**

"He's totally full of crap!" James said.

"You are talking about the fat pig my sisters dating. He's horrid." Lily said.

"Yes, now I hate and want to curse him, Lily."

"Me too." Remus agreed.

"Hey! Don't forget me!" Sirius said before returning to read.

**"Are you out of your mind?" demanded Harry. "A plot to get this house? Are you actually as stupid as you look?"**

James and Sirius hooted with approval.

**"Don't you dare-!" squealed Aunt Petunia, but again, Vernon waved her down: Slights on his personal appearence were, it seemed, as nothing to the danger he had spotted.**

"PETUNIA! SHUT YOUR DIRTY PIE HOLE OF A MOUTH!" Lily cursed at her sister.

"CALM LILY!" James yelled over top of her.

She shut her eyes and rubbed her temples.

**"Just in case you've forgotten," said Harry. "I've already got a house, my godfather left me one.**

"Oh! THATS ME!" Sirius yelled. "At least I owned a house before I died."

"One good thing, Padfoot." James said. "A million bad things to match it."

**So why would I want this one? All the happy memories?"**

**There was silence. Harry thought he had rather impressed his uncle with this argument.**

**"You claim," said Uncle Vernon, started to pace yet again, "That this Lord Thing-,"**

"His name is Voldemort." Lily said.

"Not Lord Thing." Sirius added.

**"- Voldemort," said HArry impatiently, "and we've been through this about a hundred times already. This isn't a claim, it's fact, Dumbledore told you last year, and Kingsley and Mr. Weasley-,"**

**Vernon Dursley hunched his shoulders angrily, and Harry guessed that his uncle was attempting to ward off recollections of the unnanounced visit, a few days into Harry's summer holiday, of two fully grown wizards. The arrival on the doorstep of Kingsley Shacklebolt and Arthur Weasley had come as a most unpleasant shock to the Dursleys. Harry had to admit, however, that as Mr. Weasley had once demolished half of the living room, his reapearance could not have been expected to delight Uncle Vernon.**

"Remind me to congradulate, Arthur." Lily said.

"It sounds quite funny to witness." Remus said.

"So funny its not funny." James said.

**"- Kingsley and Mr. Weasley explained it all as well," Harry pressed on remorselessly. "Once I'm Seventeen, the protective charm that keeps me safe will break, and that exposes you as well as me. The Order is sure Voldemort will target you, whether to torture you to try and find out where I am, or because he thinks by holding you hostage I'd come and try to rescue you."**

"He's so sweet." Lily gushed.

"He just basically told his Aunt and Uncle that they are going to be held hostage." Sirius told her.

"I don't care. My boys very nice for telling them like it is."

"Okay. . . ." Sirius replied, thinking Lily was turning loony.

**Uncle Vernon and Harry's eyes met. Harry was sure that in that instant they were both thinking the same thing. Then Uncle Vernon walked on and Harry resumed. "You've got to go into hiding and the Order wants to help. You're being offered serious protection, the best there is."**

"Harry's being so nice to them, when they were horrible to him." James said. "Nothing like me." He looked over at Lily. "But exactly like you."

"Your right. I would help Petunia if she asked for it, even though she thinks I'm an infection waiting to be removed." Lily said.

**Uncle Vernon said nothing, but continued to pace up and down. Outside the sun hung low over the privet hedges, The next-door neighbor's lawn mower stalled again.**

**"I thought you said there was a Ministry of Magic?" asked Vernon Dursley abruptly.**

"It's been infiltrated!" James said.

"Even we know that and we don't know what's happining." Sirius added.

"We know some, but not alot, Sirius." Lily said.

"We know close to nothing." Remus said. "It's all very confusing."

**"There is." said Harry, surprised.**

**"Well, then, why can't they protect us? It seems to me that, as innocent victims, guilty of nothing mre that harboring a marked man, we ought to qualify for government protection!"**

"As we said before, THE MINISTRY HAS BEEN INFiLTRATED." Lily told him.

"Why is he acting so dumb?" James muttered.

**Harry laughed; he could not help himself. It was so very typical of his uncle to put his hopes in the establishment, even within this world that he despised and mistrusted.**

"I would laugh to!" Sirius said, cutting his reading off.

"We all would, Padfoot!" James told his friend.

"I definatly know I would." Lily said.

"As would I." Remus added.

**"You heard what Mr. Weasley and Kingsley said," Harry replied. "We think the Ministry has been infiltrated."**

"Finally. Someone said if was infiltrated!" Lily complained.

"And it was our son." James added, looking adoringly at Lily.

"Okay. Enough goo-goo eyes." Sirius said and continued to read.

**Uncle Vernon strode to the fireplace and back, breathing so heavily that his great black mustache rippled, his face still purple with concentration.**

**"All right," he said, stopping infront of Harry yet again. "All right, lets say, for sake of argument, we accept this protection. I still don't see why we can't have that Kingsley bloke."**

"Kingsley is not a bloke!" Lily told her future brother-in-law.

"Do you know Kingsley?" Sirius asked her.

"No, but-,"

"No buts, Lily. He could be a bloke and we don't know it."

"Whatever Sirius." Lily replied.

**Harry managed not to roll his eyes, but with difficulty. This question had also been addressed half a dozen times.**

**"As I've told you," he said through gritted teeth. "Kingsley is protection the mug - I mean your Prime Minister."**

"He shouldn't have to repeat it a million times." Lily reguarded.

"Well, these are Muggles he's talking to." James said.

"I know, but even Vernon can get the point quicker than this."

**"Exactly- he's the best!" said Uncle Vernon, pointing at the blank television screen. The Dursleys had spotted Kingsley on the news, walking behind the Muggle Prime Minister as he visited a hospital. This, and the fact that Kingsley had mastered the knack of dressing like a Muggle, not to mention a certain reasuring somthing in his slow, deep voice, had caused the Dursleys to take to Kingsley in a way that they had certainly not done with any other wizard, although it was true they had never seen him with his earring in.**

"Vernon, always being so self centered!" Lily yelled.

"Aren't most Muggles?" Sirius asked.

"Not my parents." Lily said.

"There different. They gave birth to a witch." James said.

"So?"

"Okay!" Sirius said, "Continuing!"

**"Well, he's taken," said Harry. "But Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle are more than up to the job-,"**

**"If we'd seen CV's . . ." began Uncle Vernon, but Harry lost patience. Getting to his feet, he advanced on his uncle, not pointing at the TV set itself.**

"Don't do anything rash." James said.

"He won't." Lily said.

"He acts like he will."

"He won't." Lily repeated.

**These accident's aren't accidents - the crashes and explosions and derailments and whatever else has happened since we last watched the news. People are dissapearing and dying and he's behind it - Voldemort. I've told you this over and over again, he kills Muggles for fun. Even the fogs - they're caused by dementors, and if you can't remember what they are, ask your son!"**

"WHAT?" Lily burst out. "Dementors? From Azkaban?"

James froze.

"That cannot be good." Remus said. "Why would they attack him? And they attacked a Muggle. That's not possible. They aren't allowed _out _of Azkaban."

"And my baby wasn't in that wreched place!" Lily said. "Beside's Muggles aren't allowed _in_ Azkaban."

"They can't see dementors, either, Lily."

**Dudley's hands jerked up to cover his mouth. With his parents' and Harry's eyes upon him, he slowly lowered them again and asked, "There are . . . more of them?"**

"Somebody must have escaped." Remus conclueded.

"Somebody dangerous, someone who did such a horrible deed that they have to suck their soul out." Lily said.

**"More?" laughed Harry. "More than the two that attacked us, you mean? Of course there are, there are hundreds, maybe thousands by this time, seeing as they feed off fear and despair-,"**

"He knows so much, for being so young." James said, finally recovering.

"It's shocking, really." Lily said.

"He's been through alot, it seems." Remus said.

"Too much." Sirius said, then continued to read.

**"All right, all right," blustered Vernon Dursley. "You've made your point-"**

**"I hope so," said Harry. "because once I'm seventeen, all of them - Death Eaters, dementors, maybe even Inferi - which means dead bodies enchanted by a Dark wizard - will be able to find you and will certainly attack you. And if you remember the last time you tried to outrun wizards, I think you'll agree you need help."**

"Inferi? I've never heard of them." James said, looking at Moony.

"A very unheard of speices of the dead. Appearently Harry has seen them or he wouldn't know what they are." Remus said.

"He said they were dead bodies enchanted by a Dark wizard?" Lily said, looking pale.

"Yes." Remus said. "He is entirely correct."

"My poor son."

**There was a brief silence in which the distant echo of Hagrid smashing down a wooden front door seemed to reverberate through the intervening years. Aunt Petunia was looking at Uncle Vernon; Dudley was staring at Harry. Finally Uncle Vernon blurted out, "But what about my work? What about Dudley's school? I don't suppose those things matter to a bunch of layabout wizards-,"**

"We care!" Lily said. "Just not as much!"

**"Don't you understand?" shouted Harry. **_**"They will tourture and kill you like they did my parents."**_

Sirius couldn't believe what he had just read.

Lily and James' faces were so pale, they had no colour to them.

"We- we're dead?" Lily asked, tears pouring from her eyes.

"We di-died?" James asked, hugging Lily tightly.

"We found the reason why you guys weren't there, but appearently," Remus said. " Lily, there was a protection charm on Harry. He must have cursed you, but you protected him. Only a mothers love could do that. And Prongs, you were obvoiusly protecting your family, and Lily must have ran with Harry.

Lily sobbed.

"I-i died. I-i-i-i never saw my son grow up, leaving him w-w-with Petunia." Lily spluttered out.

James' face was expressionless, he just comforted Lily.

"So, is Moony, the only one of us to survive? Is he the last Murauder?" Sirius asked.

Lily pulled herself together.

"I know how you feel, Sirius." she said. "Knowing your dead in the future."

"It make's ya feel sad, am I right?" Sirius asked her.

"Yes. It does."

"It gets better."

"Does it?"

"Yes."

"Good, continue reading."

**"Dad," said Dudley in a loud voice. "Dad - I'm going with these Order people."**

"Not even a word about us dying." Lily said.

"We've been gone for 16 years, Lily. They've learned how to deal with our death." James said.

"Harry sounds like he hasn't gotten over it."

"Probubly not, he's our son. If I grew up knowing my parents were dead, I would be like him, too."

**"Dudley," said Harry. "for the first time in your life, you're talkling sense."**

**He knew the battle was won. If Dudley was frightenend enough to accept the Order's help, his parents would accompany him. There could be no question of being separated from their Didykins. Harry glanced at the carriage clock on the mantle peice.**

"Didykins?" Sirius said after he finished reading the paragraph.

"I have no clue." James said, still holding Lily.

"It doesn't even sound like 'Dudley'." Sirius muttered to himself and kept reading.

**"They'll be here in about five minutes," he said, and when none of the Dursley's replied, he left the room. The prospect of parting - probably forever - from his aunt, uncle, and cousin was the one that he was able to contemplate quite cheerfully, but there was neverthemess a certain awkwardness in the air. What did you say to one another at the end of sixteen years' solid dislike?**

"Nothing." Lily said, snifflying. "You say nothing."

"They're his family, Lily. He would feel a twing of resentment if he didn't and they died." Remus said to her.

"So? It passes. They were awful to him. He doesn't need to say anything to them." Lily replied.

Remus knew she was being this way because she had just recently learned that her and James had died, so he dropped it.

**Back in his bedroom, Harry fiddled aimlessly with his fucksack, then poked a couple of owl nuts through the bars of Hedwig's cage. They fell with dull thuds to the bottom, where she ignored them.**

**"We're leaving soon, really soon," Harry told her. "Then you'll be able to fly again."**

"Hedwig's still a weird name for an owl." James said.

"Just leave it James, were not going to get to name it, so leave it be." Lily said.

"Then, Moony, you have to make sure he calls his owl something different."

Remus sighed.

**The doorbell rang. HArry hesitated, then headed back our of his room and downstairs. It was too much to expect Hestia and Dedalus to cope with the Dursleys on their own.**

"That's certainly true." Lily said.

**"Harry Potter!" squeaked am excited voice, the moment Harry had opened the door; a small man in a mauve top hat was sweaping him a deep bow. "An honour, as ever."**

"Now that's how my baby needs to be treated!" Lily said.

"Yes. I agree, Harry needs respect." Remus said.

**"Thanks, Dedalus," said Harry, bestowing a small embarrassed smile upon the dark haired Hestia. "It's really good of you to do this. . . . They're through there, my aunt and uncle and cousin. . . ."**

**"Good day to you, Harry Potter's relatives!" said Dedalus happily, striding into the living room. The Dursleyes did not look at all happy to be addressed thus;**

"Well, they can just shove it!" Lily yelled.

"What?"

"Another Muggle term. It means to shut up."

**Harry half expected another change of mind. Dudley shrank nearer to his mother at the sight of the witch and wizard.**

**"I see you are packed and ready. Excellent! The plan, as Harry has told you, is a simple one." said Dedalus, pulling an immense pocket watch out of his waistcoat and examining it. "We shall be leaving before Harry does. Due to the danger of using magic in your house - Harry still being underage, it could provide the Ministry an excuse to arrest him - we shall be driving, say, 10 miles or so, before Disapparating to the safe location we have picked out for you. You know how to drive, I take it?" he asked Uncle Vernon politely.**

"I wish I would have seen the look on Vernon's face when he was asked that." Lily said.

"Me too!" Sirius said. "It would have been so hilarious."

**"Know how to-? Of course I ruddy well know how to drive." spluttered Uncle Vernon.**

Everyone burst out laughing.

**"Very clever of you, sir, very clever, I personally would be bamboozled by all those buttons and knobs," said Dedalus. He was clearly under the impression that he was flattering Vernon Dursley, who was visably losing confidence in the plan with every word Dedalus spoke.**

"That was another classic moment I would love to see in person." James said.

"Your right, I would love to see that." Lily said. "Who knew making fun of Muggles was so much fun?"

"I did!" Sirius said. "I do it all the time at James'! Alot better to see their faces."

"Sirius! You actually say that in front of them?" Lily said, appauled.

"Of course, now on with the story!"

**"Can't even drive," he muttered under his breath, his mustache rippling indignantly, but fortunatly neither Dedalus nor Hestia seemed to hear him.**

"Thank God!" Lily said.

"Or they might have blasted him to Mars, for such a comment."James added.

**"You, Harry," Dedalus continued, "will wait here for your guard. There had been a little change in the in the arrangements-,"**

"That cannot be a good thing." Remus said.

"Never a good thing." James agreed.

**"What d'you mean?" Harry said at once, "I thought Mad-Eye was going to come and take me by Side-Along-Apparition?"**

"Mad-Eye?" Sirius asked.

"Never heard of him." said Lily.

"Me either." James said, agreeing with Lily.

Remus shrugged.

**The Dursleys, who had listenedto all of this with looks of utter incomprehension on their faces, jumped as a loud voice screeched, **_**"Hurry up!"**_** Harry looked all around the room before realizing that the voice had issued from Dedalus's pocket watch.**

**"Quite right, were operation to a very tight schedule." said Dedalus, nodding at his watch and tucking it back into his waistcoat. "We are attempting to time your departure from the house with your family's Disapparition, Harry; thus, the charm breaks at the moment you all head for safety." He turned to the Dursley's. "Well, are we all packed and ready to go?"**

"This is going good, so far." Lily said.

"Yes, _so far_." Sirius groaned.

**None of them answered him. Uncle Vernon was still staring, appalled, at the bulge in dedalus's waistcoat pocket.**

"It's nothing to stare at." Lily mumbled.

"Your right. Its just a talking pocket watch."

**"Perhaps we should wait outside in the hall, Dedalus," murmured Hestia. She clearly felt that it would be tactless for them to remain in the room while Harry and the Dursley's exchanged lobing, possibly tear filled farewells.**

"That woman is polite."

"Unlike the Dursleys, James." Lily replied.

**"There is no need," Harry muttered, but Uncle Vernon made any further explaination unnecessary by saying loudly, "Well, this is goodbye, then, boy."**

"LIKE I SAID! RUDE!" Lily yelled.

"Calm, Lily!" Sirius yelled back.

"Sorry, Sirius."

"It's alright."

**He swung his right upward to shake Harry's hand, but at the last moment seemed unable to face it, and merely closed his fist and began swinging it backward and forward like a metronome.**

**"Ready, Diddy?" asked Aunt Petunia, fussily checking the clasp on her handbag so as to avoid looking at Harry alltogether.**

"How stupid of her! And to my son!" Lily said angrily.

"Calm-,"

"Sirius. If you say calm down one more time, I'm going to go over there and put your mouth up your ass." Lily threatened.

"Point taken." Sirius said and kept reading.

**Dudley did not answer, but stood there with his mouth slightly ajar, reminding Harry a little bit of the giant, Grawp."  
><strong>

"He's met a giant?" James said.

"Oh, good, God!" Lily yelled. "He is going to get killed by something like that."

"We know." Sirius said back to her.

**"Come along, then." said Uncle Vernon.**

**He had already reached the living room door when Dudley mumbled, "I don't Understand."**

**"What don't you understand, popkin?" asked Aunt Petunia, looking up at her son.**

"She's baby-ing that kid!" Lily said.

"No, Lily, she's feeding him quash!" Sirius replied back, smart alecly.

"Shut up, Sirius!"

**Dudley raised a large, hamlilk hand to point to Harry.**

"Hamlike Hand!" James said, him and Sirius laughing.

**"Why isn't he comming with us?"**

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia froze where they stood staring at Dudley as though he had just expressed the desire to become a ballerina.**

James and Sirius laughed even louder than before.

Lily rolled her eyes.

Remus sighed.

"They never change, do they?" he asked Lily.

"Never.

**"What?" said Uncle Vernon loudly.**

**"Why isn't he comming too?" asked Dudley.**

**"Well, he- he doesn't want to," said Uncle Vernon said. "You don't want to, do you?"**

"There just idiots!" Lily said, expressing her opinion.

**"Not in the slightest." said Harry."**

"Why would he want to go?" James said.

"It's obvious he doesn't." Sirius said.

"So obvious!" Lily added.

**"There you are," Uncle Vernon told Dudley. "Now come on, we're off."**

**He marched out of the room. They heard the front door open, but Dudley did not move and after a few faltering steps Aunt Petunia stopped too.**

"At least she stopped." James told Lily, who was glaring at Sirius, who was reading about her sister.

"Yes, she would have just kept walking and left!" Lily said.

"Well, stop glaring at Sirius! He hasn't done anything."

Lily looked away.

**"What now?" barked Uncle Vernon, reppearing in the doorway.**

**It seemed that Dudley was struggling with concepts too difficult to put into words. After several moments of apparently painful internal struggle, he said. "But where is he going to go?"**

"Awww." Lily said. "At least Harry's cousin _cares_ about him, unlike Tuny."

"It's quite odd." Remus said.

"More than quite, really weird, it seems." James said.

**Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked at each other. It was clear Dudley was frightening them. Hestia Jones broke the silence.**

**"But . . . surely you know where your nephew is going?" she asked, looking bewildered.**

"They don't care!" Lily said.

**"Certianly we know," said Vernon Dursley. "He's off with some of your lot, isn't he? Right, Dudley, let's get in the car, you heard the man, were in a hurry."**

"That won't go good with them." Remus said.

"No. It won't. Vernon just gave them an insult." James told him.

**Again, Vernon Dursley marched as far as the front door, but Dudley did not follow.**

**"Off with some of **_**our**_** lot?"**

"Told you." James said.

**Hestia looked outraged. Harry had met this attitude before: witches and wizards seemed stunned that his closest living relatives took so little interest in the famous Harry Potter.**

"He's FAMOUS!" Lily yelled, looking at James.

"I guess so. I don't know what for."

**"It's fine," Harry assured her. "It doesn't matter, honestly."**

**"Doesn't matter?" Hestia repeated, her voice rising ominously. "Don't these people realize what you've been through? What danger you are in? The unique position you hold in the hearts of the anti-Voldemort movement?"**

"He really must be famous." Remus said.

"We aren't ever going to be in that status." James said.

"Never." Sirius included.

"We are already, guys." Lily said. "Don't you see? Were the _murauders_."

**"Er - no, they don't," said Harry. "They think I'm a waste of space, actually, but I'm used to-,"**

**"I don't think your a waste of space."**

"Guess who said that?" Sirius asked.

"I hope Petunia did." Lily muttered.

"The boy, Dudley." Remus said.

James didn't answer.

**If Harry hadn't seen Dudleys lips move, he might not have believed it. As it was, he stared at Dudley for several seconds before accepting it must have been his cousin who had spoken; for one thing, Dudley had turned red. Harry was embarrassed and astonished himself.**

"Remus was right." Sirius said.

"We know, Sirius!" Lily said. "Now continue."

She obviously wanted to see what happened to her son.

**"Well . . . er . . . thanks, Dudley."**

**Again, Dudley appeared to grapple with thoughts too unwieldy for expression before mumbling, "You saved my life."**

"Aww." Lily interrupted. "Our baby's a lifesaver."

"Good to know." James replied.

**"Not really," said Harry. "It was your soul the dementor would have taken . . . ."**

"He's actually faced dementors." Remus whispered.

"Is it really hard to defeat one, Moony?" James asked him.

"Almost impossible." was the reply. "Unless you know the correct spell."

**He looked curiously at his cousin. They had had virtually no contact during this summer of last, as Harry had come back to Privet Drive so briefly and kept to his room so much. It now dawned on Harry, however, that the cup of tea on which he had trodden on tha morning might not have been a booby trap after all. Although rather touched, he was nevertheless quite relieved that Dudley appeared to have exhausted his ability to express his feelings. After opening his mouth once or twice more, Dudley subsided into scarlet faced silence.**

"That boy of Tuny's is better to him than she was." Lily said.

"It's just plain horrid." James said.

**Aunt Petunia burst into tears. Hestia Jones gave her an approving look that changed to outrage as Aunt Petunia ran forward and embraced Dudley rather than Harry.**

**"S-so sweet, Dudders . . ." she sobbed into his massive chest. "S-such a lovely b-boy . . . s-saying thank you . . ."**

"Okay. He didn't say thank you!" Lily said.

"He didn't. All he said was he didn't think Harry was a waste of space."

**"But he hasn't said thank you at all!" said Hestia indignantly. "He only said that he didn't think Harry was space!"**

"James just said the same exact thing." Sirius said to the book, then kept reading.

**"Yeah, but comming from Dudley that's like 'I love you,'" said Harry, torn between an annoyance and desire to laugh as Aunt Petunia continued to clutch at Dudley as if he had just saved Harry from a burning building.**

**"Are we going or not?" roared Uncle Vernon, reappearing yet again at the living room door. "I thought that we were on a tight schedual."**

"He's a JERK!" Lily yelled. "Let them say their goodbyes!"

"I actually agree with you, Lil's." Sirius agreed.

James nodded.

And Remus looked lost in thought.

**"Yes - yes, we are," said DedalusDiggle, who had been watching these exchanges with an air of bemusement and now seemed to pull himself together. "We really must be off. Harry- "**

**He tripped forward and wrung Harry's hand with both of his own. **

**"- good luck. I hope we meet again. The hopes of the Wizarding world rest upon your shoulders."**

"I'm sorry, but that isn't a good way to tell someone 'goodbye'." James said.

"Well, some people don't like to confront their feelings." Sirius said.

"That's right." Lily agreed.

James sighed.

**"Oh," said Harry, "Right, thanks."**

**"Farewell, Harry," said Hestia, also clasping his hand. "Our thoughts go with you."**

"Now that's a good way to say goodbye." James yelled.

"She's probably said goodbye more than he has." Sirius said.

"Sirius!" Lily gasped, appauled. "That probably isn't true and you know it!"

"Yeah, Lily, I guess your right."

**"I hope everything's okay," said Harry with a glance toward Aunt Petunia and Dudley.**

**"Oh, I'm sure we shall end up the best of chums," said Diggle brightly, waving his hat as he left the room. Hestia followed him. Dudley gently released himself from his mother's clutches and walked toward Harry, who had to repress an urge to threaten him with magic. Then Dudley held out his large, pink hand.**

Sirius laughed.

"Oh, for wizards sake, Sirius!" Lily yelled, slapping him across the head. "You act too much like a 2 year old!"

"Well, Lily, he is Sirius Black." Remus told her.

"I don't care who he is, he needs to grow up!"

**"Blimey," said Harry over Aunt Petunia's renewed sobs, "Did the dementors blow a different personality into you?"**

**"Dunno," muttered Dudley. "See you, Harry."**

"That's so cute." Lily said.

"Really really cute." Sirius said, mocking Lily in a baby voice.

It just made her glare hard at him.

**"Yeah . . ." said Harry, taking Dudley's hand and shaking it. "Maybe. Take care, Big D."**

**Dudley nearly smiled , then lumbered from the room. Harry heard his heavy footfalls on the graveled drive, then a car door slammed.**

**Aunt Petunia, whose face had been buried in her handkerchief, looked around at the sound. She did not seem to have expected to find herself alone with Harry.**

"Sounds kinda dirty." Sirius said.

"Eww! Sirius! Shut it!" Lily squeeled, obviously grossed out.

"Yeah, Padfoot, that just sounds gross." James said.

"I could happen!" Sirius said.

"No, it never will." Remus replied.

**Hastily stowing her weyt hankerchief into her pocket, she said, " Well- goodbye," and marched toward the door without looking at him.**

"WHY? SHE COULD HAVE SAID A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER THINGS, AND SHE JUST SAID, GOODBYE?" Lily yelled.

No one wanted to make her madder by saying the wrong thing, so none spoke.

**"Goodbye." said Harry.**

**She stopped and looked back. For a moment Harry had the strangest feeling that she wanted to say something to him: she gave him an odd, tremulour look and seemed to teeter on the edge of speech, but them, with a little jerk of her head, she bustled out of the room after her husband and son.**

"That's it." Sirius said, closing the book.

"I- I- I can't believe her!" Lily yelled.

James rubbed her shoulder to calm her down.

"Now," he picked up the parchment and quill. "What did we learn."

"That the Dursleys left." Remus said.

"They went with Dedalus Diggle and the Hestia lady." Sirius added.

"Is that it?"

"Pretty much." Sirius replied.

"Okay," James said. "I guess it's my turn to read."

Sirius handed him the book and James flipped to page 43...

**A/N: That is the longest chapter for this story, it's over 7,000 words. And I don't know when I'm going to get the next one up. Life's crazy because schools starting, and I need to update all my other stories too. So the chapter could take a month or a few weeks. I don't know.**

**Please review?**


End file.
